Miata Mailing List: April 1994, Message #2
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   From: Al Staats 
Subject: Re: Tow Hooks and Oil
   Date: Fri, 1 Apr 1994 06:14:43 -0500

All this tow hook chatter has it wrong. They are called tie-down hooks by 
Mazda, to be used to strap the cars securly for overseas transport
(by boat). As several Net talkers have correctly observed, they are not
attached to a strong enough mounting to be reliably used for towing for
any distance. I have had towed Miatas on several occasions and the method
where a tow truck puts straps under the wheels (front or back) and lifts it
that way works (although if you have limited slip, its not a good idea to
tow from the front for any great distance.) I have ridden with several tow
truck operators and have observed Miatas bounce around fairly badly in
tows as short as three miles. The car is just too low and short.
And if your baby is lowered and has a spoiler, the only good way to
move it more than a mile or two is by flatbed. When we pick-up and deliver
customer cars for turbo installs, we use a flatbed or our race car trailer.